After the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph brought the baby to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice which, according to law, was a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Luke 2: 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon: and the same man was just and devout….and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 And he came by (direction of) the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary, his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Though Mary and Joseph marvelled at what Simeon said about the baby, I’m sure they had no idea what all was ahead for them as the parents of God’s own Son. Being a parent is scary for all of us at times but cannot compare I’m sure to being the parents of Jesus Christ. Along with his blessing of Mary and Joseph, Simeon added these warnings: “a sign which shall be spoken against” and “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul.”
How true Simeon’s words became as Jesus was met with conflict and constant attempts to prove Him wrong once He began His ministry. What strength it took for Mary to watch as her son was crucified for a world who seemed to hate Him….like a sword to her soul.
With all the turmoil in our world today and people being offended by everything, may we find peace in knowing that Christ was born, died and was resurrected in order that none of us should fall victim to the wiles of Satan. We have witnessed God’s ways and know the ways the world would have us go. May we all choose Him and salvation rather than greed and condemnation. He didn’t come just to bring peace but to stir up the hearts of men that we might be saved. As Simeon held the Son of God in his arms, may we hold Him in our hearts and be able to say too, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”
May this holiday season bring us all joy in the knowledge of Jesus. Merry Christmas!
